New police tech can pick out problem drivers

Law enforcement agencies across the state are using a computerized device that can read up to 450 license plates a minute.

Jeffrey Smith

New police technology should make motorists driving with expired registrations or piles of delinquent parking tickets a little nervous.

Law enforcement agencies across the state are using a computerized device that can read up to 450 license plates a minute. Data on the vehicle and driver is almost instantly retrieved and displayed to officers.

Ryan Lang, senior investigator for the state Department of Motor Vehicles, was in Corning Monday using the device to canvass the city for violators.

“We generally travel to areas where the local police department don’t have this type of technology,” Lang said. “(Monday) was our first time in Corning, but I’m sure we will be back.”

Corning Officer Jim McGannon said the unit read about 1,500 plates in a four-hour period Monday. Several violators were nabbed as a result.

The license reading machine features two cylinders aimed in different directions mounted on the roof of a car. The cylinders use infrared technology to read plates and an alarm goes off if a violator is found.

“It’s unbelievably fast,” McGannon said.

It’s a big difference from the more familiar method of an officer calling in a plate number to a dispatcher to check a vehicle’s information.

Lang said the computerized system identifies the plate, generates a description of the vehicle and what law the motorist has violated. The information is upload from the DMV and state police daily.

About 400 law enforcement vehicles across the state have been equipped with the devise, including municipal police, troopers and sheriff’s deputies. The equipment cost about $25,000.

Trentanelli said the Corning Police Department and most other local police agencies do not have a license reading machine.

In the city’s case, budgetary constraints will likely keep it that way for at least the near future, according to the chief.

“We have applied for a state grant through George Winner’s office hoping to secure funding,” Trentanelli said. “Typically, a department our size can’t afford that type of an expense without some type of grant help. So we’re keeping our fingers crossed.”